Friday, July 07, 2017
Wish You Were Here, from Zim
Here's a divided back postcard by Zim (Eugene Zimmerman), published by H.G. Zimmerman of Chicago. The blue plate on this card is off-register (most obvious on the candle) lending it a vaguely blurry look. For the whippersnappers, the gag is based on the man's activity -- this is what was called 'boring a bung hole.' I think the further gag is that he probably hopes it is a wine or beer cask, and can't see the writing in the darkness. He's about to have a very unpleasant moment if he doesn't sniff before he quaffs.
The card was postally used in 1909. A woman in Dowagiac, Michigan writes to a relative in Ohio telling her about the terrible tragedy that had just happened at the Geesey Brothers Hoop Mill when a boiler blew. She describes the explosion as feeling like an earthquake, so she must have been very close.
Labels: Wish You Were Here
